The present invention is directed to a container for use in food products, particularly dairy products, such as yogurt or thickened dairy based drinks. More particularly, the present invention relates to a one use, snap-on lid having tamper evident features.
Containers for use with high or medium viscosity dairy foods and drinks must maintain an effective seal or barrier to protect the product for short periods of time, usually up to 30 days. It is known in the art to employ aluminum foil lids which are sealed to the cup portion of the container by the use of an adhesive. However, such containers are difficult to recycle because of the presence of metal which must be separated from plastic portions of the container prior to recycling. In addition, the aluminum foil often spontaneously releases from the dairy container or alternatively tears in an erratic manner when pealed by the consumer. Beneficially, however, the aluminum foil seal clearly indicates the fact that the container has been opened thereby providing an inherent indication of tampering with the container.
It is also previously known to thermoform from plastic a tight fitting lid which is placed over a lip edge of the container top to seal dairy containers and the like. Disadvantageously such container lids are capable of opening and reclosing numerous times thereby making such lids unacceptable as a tamper evidencing device.
It would be desirable if there were provided a dairy product container that is in the form of a cup of a generally circular cross-section, having a lip edge, and a lid, adapted for covering the cup and engaging the lip edge: said lid being formed of a thermoplastic resin and being capable of initially covering the container by engagement with the lip edge of the cup, and upon removal being subject to fracture propagation and tearing. Desirably the lid and cup are thermoformed from a relatively thin, extruded sheet of thermoplastic resin.